Connected To Him (ManxMan)

Part 1: Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Passenger Buddy?

Ethan placed his hand on his backpack strap, hiking the bag further onto his shoulder. He had left his class in a rush, eager to get out of the boring room and into the cafeteria. He had reached into his pocket, planning on pulling out his phone when he felt a hand, pulling on his arm.

He luckily had the sense to let go of his phone before his arm was tugged back. Ethan turned around, his eyes raising in surprise when he saw who it was. He wasn’t sure who he expected to see, but whoever it was was not Scarlett Hale. 

“Ethan, hey!” She smiled, bumping her shoulder against his. Ethan chuckled to himself, smiling back. “How are you?”

“Hey to you too.” He responded, slowing down his walk so she could stay in line with him. Scarlett ran a hand through her extensions, adjusting the smooth hair away from her face carefully. Ethan and Scarlett began talking, the two of them joking around as they made their way to lunch.

In the last two weeks, Ethan and Scarlett went from two people who went to school together to casual friends. Aiden had finally made his move and asked Scarlett out earlier that week, and since then they all started hanging out for lunch.

Ethan had to admit that he was really excited for his friend Aiden. Aiden had never been the best at starting friendships simply because he got too into his head so dating had been completely out of the question. Now, Ethan was able to see his best friend finally shoot his shot. Plus he got a couple of pretty cool friends out of the deal.

The two finally got to the cafeteria and heard someone calling out their names. Ethan turned to their usual lunch table, finding Aiden, Meaghan, and River (the third new friend Ethan had been introduced to that week).

Scarlett practically jogged over to the group, soaking up all the attention she got from the others at the table. Ethan trailed after her a little less enthusiastically. A lot, actually. He was happy to see them and get a break from learning and such, but he was a little distracted. 

He sat down after briefly greeting the rest of the group and pulled out his phone. His phone opened to its last tab, and Ethan was once again fixated on the device. It was Chris’s number. He had been pulling up his number and staring at it since he got it—which was nearly a week prior. Ethan wanted to text him desperately. But Chris was the one who asked for his number and he hadn’t texted him yet. 

Although Ethan was itching to make use of the other boy’s number, he feared that it would seem creepy or weird to text Chris first. And, because his slight crush and gayness were still under wraps, Ethan had no one to tell him that he was being ridiculous.

Ethan tapped his finger against the side of the phone case, gnawing at his bottom lip. Should he do it? He wondered, thinking over it again. Should he just take a leap of faith?

He vaguely heard Aiden say something along the lines of “don’t know what you’re talking about” but was still debating whether to text Chris or not. Ethan was drawn out of his thoughts and back into the current conversation when he heard his name. 

“ . . . Ethan was even there when you asked me.” Scarlett said, turning to Ethan expectantly. “Right Ethan.”

Ethan’s brain went blank for a moment, trying to come up with a response. He had barely been listening to the conversation and now he had to speak?

Then he suddenly remembered the huge event that occurred at the beginning of the week when his best friend Aiden finally asked someone out. 

“Yeah,” Ethan replied with a nod. How could he forget? Or really, how had Aiden forgotten. Ethan would have assumed that was the only thing that was ever on Aiden’s mind. For Ethan, Chris was the only thing on his mind and they weren’t supposed to go on a date. Ethan pushed the thought out of his mind. “I can’t believe you don’t remember.”